Traction-engine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. H. B. MOMURRAY.

TRACTION ENGINE.

' No. 318,194. Patented May 19, 1885.

N. PETERS. Phew-Lima m hur. Washington D, C.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. B. MGMURRAY TRACTION ENGINE.

No. 318,194. Patented May 19. 1885 m PLTERS. Photo-Lithographer, wnhmmn. B4 c,

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. H. B. MOMURRAY.

TRACTION ENGINE.

No. 318,194. Patented May 19, 1885.

N. PETERS. mwum m. Wufimglcn. u. c.

I UNITED STATES:

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY B. MOMURRAY, OF BURGETTSTOVVN, PENNSYLVANIA.

TRACTION- ENGINE.

QPBCIFICATIUN rotating part. of Letters Patent No. 318,194, dated May19, 1885.

Application filed March 28, 1985.

T 0 all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, HENRY B. MoMURRAY,

of Burgettstown, in the county of Washington and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Traction- Engines; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof.

My invention relates to traction-powers employed on roads or fields forthe purpose of drawing cars, wagons, or like vehicles, plows or otheragricultural implements, and has special reference to certainimprovements in the traction-engine described and shown in LettersPatent No. 296,862, granted to me April 15, 1884. In that patent isdescribed a suitable carriage or frame supported at the front end on atruck and wheels, and having at the rear a power-shaft carrying a seriesof eccentrics journaled in legs or bars, the legs or bars supporting therear of the frame, and on the rotation of the power-shaft the legs werecaused to engage with the ground and by a backward stroke push forwardthe engine, and when they reached the end of the stroke they were raisedfrom the ground and carried forward to the first position to repeat thestroke. The upper ends of the legs had a limited longitudinal movementwithin a guideframe above the power-shaft and terminated in curvedextensions provided with weights, to cause the upper ends to fallforward when raised from the ground into proper position for thefollowing stroke. The boiler and en gine were supported at the forwardend of the apparatus.

In the practical working of this apparatus I have found that theeccentrics,because of the large bearing-surfaces, caused great frictionbetween the parts, and consequently largely increased the forcenecessary to operate the engine, and that when the engine was runningrapidly the upper ends of thelegs were liable to jar the engine by theirblows against the guide-frame, and the legs struck'toohard a'blow on theground. I also found'thati'the weight of the boiler andsteam-enginaifuel, and water at the forward end was so great as to pressthe guide whcels downinto'any ditch or depression and prevent the enginefrom passing over.

(No model.)

The object of my invention is to overcome these difficulties and toimprove the construction of the engine in other particulars.

In my improved engine the legs are journaled on and operated by apower'shaft having a series of cranks, the legs acting to support therear of the tractionengine through the crank-shaft, and. the friction isreduced to about one-third that of the eccentrics. The upper ends of thelegs are provided with longitudinal slots, through which passes ahorizontal guide-shafdthis construction making imparting to the legs apositive movement. Each leg is provided with cushioning-springs in suchmanner that but little of the jar of the feet striking the ground isimparted to the body of the engine.

' The construction of the engine and its parts is also improved in otherparticulars, as hereinafter particularly set forth.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willdescribe fully its construction and operation, referring to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a rear view of mytraction-engine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line :0 00,Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of the rear end. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectionon theline 3 3 Fig. 2, partly broken away. side view of one of the legs.Fig. 6 is a pen speetive view of the crankshaft. Fig. 7 is a like viewof one section thereof.

' The body A of the traction-engine is preferably made of iron beams toobtain the desired strength, I-beams being suitable for the purpose.Atthe forward end is the guidetruek B, which is'of peculiar form, toobtain the desired movements and strength, the truck having the bentframes 1) 0, one secured to and the apparatus strong, and at the sametime rigid with the body A, and the other secured to and rigid with theaxle O. The frame I) has the bearing-plate b, and the frame 0 thebearing-plate c, and the king-bolt B passes of the truck together. Thehole inthe plate D a is flaring from its top downward,as at a, toallowthe king-bolt to swing therein, and the LII hole I) in thebearing-plate b is larger than the king-bolt to permit side movement ofthe bolt therein, and as the axle G and framec are rigid with theking-bolt this bolt will swing within the frame 2) whenever the truck ispassing over sidling or uneven ground, the kingbolt swinging within thebearing-plate b, and the spring a yielding according to the pressurebetween the bearing-faces.

In order to hold the king-bolt centrally within the hole b of thebearing-plate b, I provide the spring-bars If, one end of the bars beingsecured to the body A of the engine at the outward forward end thereof,and the other end fitting around the king-bolt above the bearingplate,and these bars not only strengthen the truck, but draw the king-boltback to its normal position when the strain thereon is removed. As theking-bolt extends from the top of the body A through the truck and axleframe and the body of the axle, it is evident that a strong supportisobtained. In order to operate this front guide'truck and guide thetraction-engine, I secure to the axle O,at each end thereof close to thewheels, chains D, passing one over and one under the reel d, mounted insuitable bearings on the body A of the machine, and at one end of saidbar d is the bevel or wormear wheel d in which meshes Y thecorresponding bevel-gear or Worm at, this wheel being secured to theshaft d mounted in suitable bearings and extendingback to the platform aat the rear of the body A within reach of the engineer, and by means ofthis apparatus the guide wheel can be turned in whichever directiondesired by the engineer from the rear of the body A. At the rear of theengine the body A is formed of the longitudinal beams A A the cross-beamA and the rear cross-beam,A, the longitudinal beams A form-ing the mainpart of the body A, and the beams A running parallel thereto and outsidethereof, the four beams being connected by the cross-beams A and therear beam, A

Journaled in suitable boxes on the beams A A are the main powershafts EE, these shafts being what are termed crank-shafts, and having thecranks thereof extending out at right angles to each other, each shafthaving four cranks therein to receive the four legs supported oneachside of the engine, the rear of the traction-engine being supportedon these legs through the crank-shafts. The'exact construction of thesecrank-shafts is fully shown in Figs. 6 and 7, in which 6 are the mainbearings journaled to the horizontal beams A A", and e e are the cranksof said power-shaft, each crank being at right angles to the one next toit, so that the bearings of the legs journaled on these cranks arearranged to move in a circle upon the ro tation of the crankshaft. Thiscrank-shaft E is formed in a peculiar manner, in order to obtain thenecessary strength and rigidity, being formed in sections such as shownin Fig. 7, each section being formed of the crankplate f and thecrank-bearing f, cast or forged in one solid piece from cast-steel, thecrankbearing f extending out at one end, and the crank-plate f having atits opposite end the seat f for the reception of the crank-bearing ofthe adjacent crank plate, and passing through the crank-bearing f is thecotterhole f for the reception of the cotter ffiwhich is driven throughthe cotter-holes f in the crank-plate f, said cotter-holes extendingthrough-the plate into the seat f,- and in order to connect theditferentparts of the crankshaft together the crank-bearing f is firmlyseated in the seat f and the cotter is driven through said cotter-holesf and f thus connecting the parts rigidly together and forming a strongand rigid crank-shaft, the end plates, f", of the crank-shaft having thebear ings 6 formed thereon, and are connected to the adjacent sectionsof the sectional crankshaft, in the-manner above described. The

two crank-shafts E are mounted in line with each other, and their innerends are formed angular and united by the sleeve E, so that the twoshafts may operate together; but where it is desired to make a shortturn, as in a narrow place on the road, the sleeve may be slipped offthe end of one crank-shaft so as to be wholly supported by the other,and leave the two shafts separate,so they may be turned in differentdirections, as hereinafter described.

At the outer ends of the crank-shafts E are mounted the gear-wheels E,which gear into the gear-wheels G mounted on the ends of the shafts G.These shafts G are supported in suitable bearings, g 9, extending upfrom the beams A A of the body A, and the shafts G being on or about thesame vertical plane as the powershafts E, and these shafts G G areconnected by the sleeve Gin substantially the manner as described as tothe sleeve E, connecting the shafts E E. The shafts G areprovided withthe gear-wheels G,which gearinto the gear-wheels H on the engine-shafth.

The engines H are supported on the inner bearings, g, in any suitablemanner in avertical position, and their pitmen h are secured in theusual manner to the cranks h of the engine-shafts It, so that the powerfrom the engine is transmitted from the engine-shafts it through thegear-wheels H G to the shafts G, and thence through the gear-wheelsG2'E2 to the power crank-shafts E. Suitable leversextend from theengine-valves back to the platform (1. within reach of the engineer.

The boiler K is supported in any suitable manner by the inner bearings,g, between said bearings in front of and close to the shafts E and G ofthe machine, the boiler and engines both being located in suchposition'that they are supported by the operative legs heretoforereferred to, and that but little weight is thrown upon the forwardportion of the engine, and by so supporting them I am enabled to guidethe machine much easier, as the guide-wheels and truck beingcomparatively free from weight, will mount any obstruction much moreeasily IIO than where they are weighted down, as shown in the patentbefore referred to, and I obtain the further advantage that the weightof the boiler and engine increase the traction or hold of the operativelegs upon the ground without increasing the weight of thetraction-engine. The boiler is preferably supported inthe cage isbolted, as at k, to the inner bearings, though the body of the boilermay be bolted to said bearings directly, if desired. I prefer, however,to support the boiler in this cage for the reason that its body is freeto expand and contract without throwing strains upon itsconnecting-bolts, and it is therefore less liable to leak or get out oforder. The boiler is pro-. vided with the pipes h leading to thesteamchests of the engines, and the feed-door k of the boiler faces therear of the engine, so that it can be fed from platform a at the rear ofthe engine-body A, the entire apparatus being thus in position to becontrolled by the engineer at the rear of the engine. The fuel and waterfor the supply of the boiler are carried in the tender L at the back ofthe engine, a small portion of said tender being shown in Fig. 3, andthe engine is thus relieved of the Weight of the water and fuel, thefuel being within easy reach of the engineer for feeding the boiler. Thewater-tank of the tender is connected to the boiler by a suitablepipe,Z, in the same manner as generally employed with locomotive-engines.

The engine is provided with four operative legs or bars, M, on each sidethereof, the construction of each of said legs being the same as fullyshown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Each leg is journaled to onebearing-bar, f, in the cranks e of the power-shaft, said bearing-barworking withinthe journal-bearing m of the leg, and at the upper endor-extension m of the leg is the long slot. m through which the shaft Gpasses, so that each leg ismounted on the crank-shaft E and theguideshaft G, and upon the rotation of the crankshaft E the leg is firstcarried forward and then downward against the surface of the ground,,with which it engages, and is then pushed backward, thus pushingforward the traction-engine, and when it reaches the end of itspushing-stroke is raised and carried.

upward and forward to its original position. During this stroke of theleg its extension m slides over the guide-shaft G, this guide-shaftacting to hold the upper portion of the leg in its proper position, andthe slot m allowing of sufficient movementqof the leg to enable it tomake its stroke as it is carried around in its circular stroke by thecrank-shaft. a

In order to hold the upper ends of the leg theproper distance apart, Iemploy the loose collars n on said guideshaft G between the slottedextensions of the leg, and these loose collars also prevent frictionbetween the parts and prevent the swinging of the legs out of theirproper vertical position with relation to the crank-bearings of thecrankshaft. Two of these legs engage with the ground, at the same time,one on each side" of the machine,

they being arranged to move together, so that two operative legs.

motion thereof, while the legs M are in posi- 'tion just before theyengage with the ground to make the next pushing-stroke of the legs.

As thecrank-shaft is turned the legs M will be carried against theground in the position of the legs M, and after their pushing-stroke isover they will be carried into the position of the legs M, thence tothat of the legs M and thence back to the position shown ready .for thenext pushingstroke, the other legs. passing through the same course, andone leg ,on each side thus engaging with the ground and acting to pushforward the traction-engine at all times, so that the legs thus impart.a continuous and steady forward motion tothe traction-engine.

As the entire support of the rear of the en gine is directly through thecrank power-shaft it is evident that there is great friction between theeccentrics shown in my former patent and" the bars on account of thepressure of the broad bearing-faces of the eccentrics, and in my presentapparatus the crank-bearings fv of the cranks are of comparatively smalldiameter, so that the friction between the operative legs and the powershaft is reduced to less than one-third that of the apparatus shown inthe patent above referred to, where eccentries are employed, andconsequently the power necessary to operate the traction-engine isproportionately reduced, and by the em.- ployment of this crankpower-shaft instead of the eccentric-shaft I have reduced the powervnecessary to operate the traction-engine from onethird to one-half.

Bythe employment of the guide-shaft and I the slotted extensions of theoperative legs fi tting around it I obtain a much better control of theoperative legs than can be obtainedwhere said legs are free to movewithin the guideframe, as shown in said patent, and also overcomethejarring of the machine on account of 'I20 the swinging of the upperends of the legs or bars, and do away with all spring apparatus to takethe jar, thus simplifying toa great ex 1 tent the construction of theapparatus.

In order to prevent the jarring of the apparatus by theblow of the feetupon the ground where the traction engine is moving rapidly, 5

I have constructed the operative legs as shown in Fig. 5, the body Pofthe legs having the lugs 1) extending out at the sides thereof and andextendingdown therefrom, the ends of the bars passing through seats orholes in the upper ends of the-auxiliary frame B, said *1 0 the verticalbars 1) rigidly secured thereto J frame R preferably having therectangular form shown to lighten it, and having the bars 4' extendingup therefrom and passing through severe jar, to which they would besubjected if the leg was formed in one solid piece. The auxiliary frameR and the body P are held together by suitable nuts or cotters securedto said bars p and r. The springs s s are sufficiently strong to bearthe weight of the enine. The auxiliary frames R are provided with thefeet 25, having suitable engaging cleats or, spikes, t, to give them ahold upon the ground.

The operation of my improved traction-engine is as follows: The powerfrom the engine is communicated through the gear-wheels H G, the shaftsG G, and the gear-wheels G" E to the crank-shafts E, the power from theengine being, on account of the proportionate size of the gear-wheels,increased about ten times, so as to obtain the necessary power tooperate the traction-engine with comparatively small steam-engines.Where the engine is passing in a comparatively steady course along theroad or field, as the guideshafts G G and power-shafts E E are connectedby their sleeves G E, and so operate together, the tractionengine may beguided in its movement by the engineer from the platform a through theshaft d and gearing to the shaft (1 and thence by the chains D to thewheels of the truck B. As the crank-shaft is turned, it brings twooperative legs in contact with the ground, and by their backwardmovement pushes forward the engine, and as the shaft continues to rotateit brings each successive set of legs M M M M in contact with theground, imparts to them apushing-stroke, and raises them clear of theground and draws them forward again to engage with the surface of theground for the next stroke. In this manner the engine is propelledforward along the surface of the ground, and in case it encounters anyirregularities in the surface thereof the jar is taken up by the springss s in the operativelegs, as before described, and the severe jarring ofthe apparatus is thus prevented. the auxiliary frames R of the legsbeing made sufficiently strong to withstand these jars.

As friction has been reduced to a minimum, the power necessary tooperate the tractionengine is but small, it requiring only from twentyto thirty pounds of steam to propel the engine and its tender, andconsequently the engine can draw a very heavy load.

v The movement of the traction-engine can be guided by the engineer fromthe platform at the rear thereof, and as the forward portion of theengine carries but little load, it will rise easily over an abruptobstruction, such as in passing over a trough or gutter, and thetraction-engine may be employed on rough roads or rough fields, or forhauling or for any agricultural purposes.

In case the forward wheels of the engine encounter any ruts or sidlingground, on account of the peculiar construction of the forward truck, asbefore referred to, it will accommodate itself thereto, the king-boltswinging within the truck B, as before referred to, and allowing thewheels to accommodate themselves to the irregularities in the road, andas soon as they pass such rough or sidling ground the king-bolt and axlewill be drawn back to their proper position by the spring-bars andcushioning-spring before referred to.

Where it is desired to turn the traction-engine in a very small space,the sleeves G E are loosened and slipped over so as to disengage theshafts G G E Efrom each other, and one of the engines can then bereversed, when the apparatus can be turned in a space very littlelargerthan that occupied by the engine, the set of operating-legs on oneside pushing backward and that on the other side pushing forward.

When necessary, both engines may be reversed and the apparatus can bebacked there- What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. In traction-engines, the combination of a body or framehaving'guidewheels at the forward end, a power-shaft mounted in saidframe and having a series of cranks therein, and a series ofsupporting-legs jourualed on the cranks of the power-shaft and acting tosupport the rear part of said frame through the power-shaft,substantially as set forth.

2. In traction-engines, the combination, with a power-shaft and a seriesof operative legs or bars journaled thereto and having imparted to thema pushing-stroke thereby, of a guide-shaft above the power-shaft, andhaving said legs connected thereto by a sliding connection,substantially as set forth.

3. In traction-engines, the combination of a power-shaft having a seriesof cranks therein, a guide-shaft above it, and a series of operativelegs or bars journaled to the cranks of said power-shaft and connectedto said guideshaft by a sliding connection, substantially as set forth.

4. In traction-engines,the combination, with the body A, of thecrank-shafts E E, thelegs M, journaled to the cranks thereof, and theconnecting-sleeve E, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In traction-engines, the combination, with the body A, of thecrank-shaft E, the guideshaft G, and the legs M, journaled to thecrank-shaft and having the extensions M, pro

vided with the slots m through which the guide-shaft passes,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In traction-engines, the combination of the power-shaft E, theguide-shaft G, the legs M, journaled to said power-shaft and havingslotted extensions through which the guideshaft passes, and the collarsn on said guideshaft, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In traction-engines, the operative leg having the body 1? andauxiliary frame R, in combination with guide and spring connectionsbetween them, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

8. In legs for traction-engines, the combination of the body P, havingthe guide-bars 1), frame R, having guide-bars'r, and springs around saidbars confined between said body poses set forth.

and the spring-bars b substantially as and for u the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said HENRY B. MGMURRAY, have hereunto set myhand.

HENRY B. McMUBRAY. Witnesses:

W. W. VANCE, O. M. ELDER.

